Feeling Christ’s Love

By Elder Takashi Wada

Of the Seventy

From an interview with Haley Yancey.

When I was growing up in Japan, I was given a Bible at school. It had English and Japanese words next to each other. Our principal told us to use it to study English.

As I read it, I learned about Jesus. Who is this person who is so full of love? I wondered. The words He said made me happy. I wanted to know more about Him.

A little while later, I met the missionaries. They gave me a Book of Mormon and asked me to read it and pray about it. I loved reading about Jesus in the Book of Mormon too. I prayed and felt it was true.

No one in my family wanted to learn about the Church. Jesus taught that we should honor our parents, but my parents didn’t want me to join the Church. That was hard.

I told my parents how I felt. I told them about my prayers. They didn’t understand. They wondered why I wanted to leave our religion behind.

I kept trying. Eventually my parents said I could be baptized. Many years later, my mother was also baptized.

I know that I was blessed for wanting to follow Jesus. I love learning about Him, and I know following Him brings blessings.

Jesus Wants Me to Follow Him

Jesus wants us to follow Him by being baptized. Read the verses. Then color in the matching shapes.

Illustration by Beth Whittaker